Enable Live Read with the S3-Compatible API

Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Live Read provides the ability to read data from an object while that object is uploading. 

Typically, large files that are hundreds of GBs or multiple TBs in size can take hours to upload as an object using an operation such as S3 Create Multipart Upload. This results in a considerable delay in using these files until the upload process has fully completed. Live Read is intended to eliminate this delay in file access.

To use Live Read, add the custom x-backblaze-live-read-enabled HTTP header with a value of true to the following S3-compatible API operations:

• S3 Create Multipart Upload
• S3 Get Object
• S3 Head Object

When creating a Live Read-enabled request using S3 Create Multipart Upload, it is also possible to specify the part size by using the x-backblaze-live-read-part-size HTTP header. 

The part size (in bytes) has a minimum allowable size of 5 MB (5,000,000 bytes) and a maximum allowable size of 5 GiB (5,368,709,120 bytes). The specified part size is used for all of the parts except the last part.

For guidance on implementing a custom header, refer to the documentation for your S3-compatible SDK.

Watch the following tutorial to learn more about accelerating production workflows and asset deliveries using Live Read.